Bonkers
by LSDalice
Summary: When Harriet Stewart started her fifth year at Hogwarts, she anticipated a variety of happenings. OWLs, homework, and stress. What she didn't expect was that she'd get involved with a certain pair of twins. And she CERTAINLY didn't expect to grow closer to "it" girl Cho Chang, over the loss of a friend. George/OC? Fred/OC? Oh, the possibilities. **HIATUS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE**
1. Chapter 1

**Well, I'm giving it a try. This is my first story on this account, but not my first published fanfiction. A few years ago a I had an account with 4 or 5 stories, but I felt that my writing was far below sub-par, so I deleted it out of embarrassment. Now I'm back to try it again.**

**I know that Cho Chang's year has been disputed (sometimes quite heatedly) but for the purpose of this fiction, I'm going with the movie canon and placing her in fifth year with the Golden Trio. I know, it's not book canon blah blah blah. We'll all be fine.**

**Not quite sure how I'm going to update this yet. Probably a weekly or bi-weekly schedule. C:**

**Enjoy! PLEASE feel free to criticize, patronize, and favoritize. C;**

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Chapter One: At First Glance

Harriet was not amused by this situation. Other girls in her compartment were babbling on mindlessly about who-knows-what. And all the while, wallowing in her self pity, the mudblood fifth year just wanted to finish up her summer assignments. She really should not have procrastinated to such an extent, but really, could you blame her? This summer had been filled with things much more important than tedious homework! Like...

Drat, she could think of nothing. Really, the most exciting occurrence this season had been shopping for school supplies with her friend, Cho. They had gossiped and people-watched, all the while adding heavy textbooks and packages of quills to their trolleys. Things like: _"Did you hear Draco Malfoy has a new girlfriend? It's Pansy though, been on her back since third year." _or _"Look at that girl's skirt! Can't be older than a first year, and flat as a board!". _Though, after that last comment, Harriet looked down at her own chest and silently hoped to herself that Cho would not call her out on that. She had given up on her dreams of a tall, hour glass figure at the end of this summer, settling for, albeit bitterly, her 5'5" and less-than-bodacious body.

And it's not like anyone would notice her while she was standing next to Cho Chang. Not too tall or too short, curves in all the right places, and hair so shiny it made the sun fold its arms across its chest and mutter under it's breath, _"I hope that bitch gets fat." _Honestly, why did Cho even hang out with her?

But Harriet already knew the reason, and she didn't want to think about that right now.

Coming back to reality like someone who had just broken the surface of very cold lake, the Hufflepuff cursed her day dreaming tendencies. The tip of her quill had been poking the same spot of parchment for quite a while now, and had begun to bleed through to the other side. She drew her wand out and magicked the ink off the parchment. Ah, it felt so good to use magic again.

The elation was short-lived, however, when she realized she was only two inches down a ten-inch report on the mating habits of Hippogriffs. A quick look out of the train window revealed that there was no sign of the Hogwarts castle just yet, and if she really buckled down and focused she could put a half-decent essay together. Cho, sitting next to her and just snapping out of a day dream herself, noticed Harriet's frantic quill movements.

"I heard that there's a new professor this year for Care of Magical Creatures, so they probably won't be too hard on the grading." She said, scanning over the Hufflepuff's essay quickly.

"Easy for you to say, Cho. You're a Ravenclaw. Anything you write is guaranteed at least an _'Exceeds Expectations'_." Harriet mumbled back distractedly.

"You know that's not true! I get plenty of average grades!" Cho chattered back defensively. Though why, Harriet wasn't sure. The Ravenclaw always wanted to downplay her intelligence.

"Oh really, what's the worst grade you've ever gotten then?"

"Well..." Harriet could see Cho bite down on her lip and crinkle her brow in thought from the corner of her eye. Of course, she probably had to think back a while. "I got a '_Poor_' on a Potions test one time in second year. It was so embarrassing!"

Harriet gave a victorious "Hah!" while still jotting down some facts that she vaguely remembered from last year's Care of Magical Creatures class. "Everyone fails an assignment in Potions at least once, if you're not a Slytherin. Snape makes damn sure of that."

"Oh, Harriet. Don't say that! It was my fault, I stirred the Cure for Boils counter-clockwise instead of clockwise, and it exploded. I looked like Seamus Finnegan that day. I even had to ask Madam Pomfrey to help me grow back some of my hair!" Cho recounted the memory with, from what Harriet could tell, a pained expression.

"Alright, alright. Calm down."

The conversation faded out from there, as Harriet focused more and more on finishing the essay. The dull clucking of the other girls in their compartment white noise in the background. She was glad that Cho and herself had already changed into our robes earlier, she certainly wouldn't have time now. Another quick glance out the window told her that Hogwarts was rapidly approaching.

She finished her essay right as the train gently rolled into a stop, the walls creaking in protest as all movement came to an end. Harriet wondered to herself just how long this train had been transporting students, and it wasn't until Cho offhandedly gave her an exact year that she realized she had been thinking out loud. Rolling her shoulders back, the Hufflepuff flicked her wand at the essay to dry off the ink and rolled it up before tucking it in the waistband of her skirt. She then stood up and adjusted her clothing and tried her best to smooth back her tangled coppery hair. The effort was futile, but a habit nonetheless.

"I'm so hungry!" Harriet complained as her stomach gave a bothered growl.

"Me too. Do you think it's alright to sit together in the Great Hall?" Cho pondered, stretching her arms out in a 'Y' and giving a great yawn.

"I don't know. maybe we should stick to our own tables, for the sorting at least." Harriet too had been thinking about this. While she missed her Hufflepuff friends, she did want to sit with Cho as well.

"Alright. Don't leave me for too long though! Marietta might talk my ears off! She owled me a while ago saying she went to Egypt over the summer, and has loads to tell me." Cho feigned an exasperated face, and the two friends shuffled out of the compartment and onto the platform.

After a long walk and much confusion, the fifth years were directed to go towards carriages being pulled by strange, bald, winged horses. They looked quite frightening, and Harriet wracked her brain trying to figure out what they were.

She climbed into one of the carriages with Cho and some Gryffindors. Of the bunch, she recognized the Weasley twins, and a girl that she knew played Quidditch, but couldn't quite remember the name of. There was also a couple in the carriage that she quickly turned away from, as they decided that a snogging session was in order. Harriet smiled at the other Gryffindors, and listened to Cho talk about her classes this year, and how she wanted OWLS in at least five of her subjects. She nodded along with her, all the while sneaking glances at the Weasley twins. They really were quite attractive. One of the many times that Harriet managed to take in their features, one of the twins caught her looking and winked. This sent her pulse on over the edge and she quickly looked away.

She made eye contact with Cho, who had both noticed and giggled at her misfortune. Harriet glared back at her with what she hoped were menacing green eyes, then shifted her gaze to the foot of the carriage. Marietta Edgecomb, looking exhausted and a bit out of breath, clambered up the small steps to sit on the other side of Cho.

"Oh, Merlin. I'm too tired for this." Harriet mumbled under her breath, resting her face on her palm and closing her eyes.

It wasn't that Marietta had ever done anything to her personally, it was just that...she liked to talk. A lot. She had never heard anyone talk so fast or so much, and had no idea how Cho could keep up with her. Sometimes, Harriet doubted that the girl was human. She could think of no other reason as to how the girl could go so long without breathing. As Marietta started to tell Cho all about her vacation to Egypt, the copper-haired fifth year could already feel a head ache coming on.

Finally getting over her embarrassment about being caught staring, Harriet felt it safe to take another quick glance at the twins. Only to realize that one of them was staring right back at her with big, brown eyes. She pondered whether the twinkle she spotted in his eyes was real, or a product of her imagination. Either way, it seemed to send all of the blood in her body upwards in what she was sure resulted in a big, fat blush. The Weasley twin only smirked- _smirked!_- at her and held out his hand.

"I'm George Weasley. I figured you should know my name since you've been staring quite a bit. Never seen a ginger before?" His smirk never faded as he spoke to her, his voice laced honest amusement.

Harriet was mortified. He spoke to her. He acknowledge her staring. He was attractive. He did not quiet his voice or speak discreetly to her. Everyone in the carriage, with the exception of the snogging couple who went right along with as much obscenity as before, turned in their seats to watch this encounter. She reckoned that even the strange horse turned to look at her.

How did her mouth work again? She tried to think of something witty to say. Something comical, snarky, or sarcastic that would impress him and everyone in the carriage so that she could forget about this moment and not have to regret it for the rest of her life.

"Thestrals are pulling the carriages, you know." Harriet spat, the fact rushed and barely coherent. So that's what they were. She wondered for a moment how she spoke it without it registering in her brain, before she realized what she had said and stiffened. He looked at her like he might actually believe she was off her rocker.

Seconds of complete silence passed. Or was it full minutes?

"You're a bit of a strange bird. You know that?" His face said 'what the fuck', but his eyes said 'this is hilarious'.

"My name's Harriet Stewart." She squeaked when she felt she could conjure up a sentence. One hand fisted in the fabric of her skirt and the other shook his hand.

George had that twinkle in his eye again, and his smirk returned as though it had never left. Harriet glanced at his twin, who seemed equally amused and had the same smirk tight around his face. "Fred." He introduced himself, but did not offer his hand like his twin had. He was too busy trying to contain his laughter, Harriet could tell by the way his rib cage seemed to expand shakily when he breathed. She wondered whether he was holding his amusement back for her benefit or just because he didn't want to seem rude. She nodded her 'hello' at him, shaken.

"Well, Harriet," George replied, withdrawing his hand. "You seem bonkers."

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**Hope you liked it! Please review/favorite/whatever it is you readers do. C:**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for the favorites and the follows! I appreciate it. C:**

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Chapter Two: Words Spoken

Cho Chang would never let her live this down. Neither would Marietta, but she just couldn't find it in her to care what Marietta thought. So she decided that she was going to avoid the Ravenclaw duo like they were lepers.

After getting off of the carriage and very nearly sprinting to the Hufflepuff girl's dormitory, Harriet collapsed onto her bed. No one had come up to the dorms yet, so she was all alone. She probably had enough time to sit here for a few minutes before having to go downstairs with everyone else to watch the sorting. Trying to forget about the incident with the Weasley twins, she let herself get lost in thought for a while.

How many unsuspecting first years would pout this year when they were sorted into Hufflepuff? Last year, almost all of the Hufflepuffs gave sighs of defeat when the Sorting Hat assigned them into their houses. Harriet probably would have too, if her family hadn't been completely black and yellow for as long as she could remember. She had no siblings, but all of her aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, and even both of her parents were Puffs. One of her Aunts was actually named Helga.

She was proud to don the Badger on her chest, though she had to admit that it would have been exciting to be a courageous Gryffindor, a cunning Slytherin, or a genius Ravenclaw. But it wasn't like she could do anything about it now. What's done is done, and she might as well embrace her house. Cedric had taught her that before-

Quickly finishing that train of thought, she now wondered where in the world her cat had gone to. Patches had been with her when they boarded the train, hadn't he? Harriet figured that he must have wandered off while she was slaving over her essay, and that he probably found his way into the castle like he always did. Not to mention that she was a little preoccupied after the train ride. Heat rose to her cheeks again as she watched the play-by-play in her head for the hundredth time.

"I had to say Thestrals. I'm such an idiot, why didn't I just tell him my name and get on with it? I made a complete fool on myself!" She rolled over so that she was face down on the mattress and let out a muffled scream of frustration into her pillow.

After wallowing in self pity for a few more minutes, she decided that she should go down to the Great Hall. This decision made her stomach rumble in appreciation.

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"I'm surprised, this year only fifty of the first years asked if they could be sorted again." Harriet talked into her soup. She was still having trouble looking people in the eye.

Billy Alcott, a fellow seventh year Hufflepuff and a friend of Harriet, nodded in agreement, his thick, dark eyebrows raised skeptically. "I know, it's a bloody miracle. You'd think more of 'em would just bunker down and deal with it, y'know?" His Irish lilt came through even with a mouthful of mashed potatoes. Some of which did not stay in his mouth.

"Ugh, Billy! _Please _chew with your mouth closed. And don't talk with your mouth full!" Another seventh year Puff, Marjory Wexler, chastised. She wiped her a fleck of mashed potato off of her ebony skin with her sleeve, disgusted. Harriet was always amazed at the fact that Marjory could always look beautiful. With her big chocolate eyes and her perfect high cheekbones, and not to mention her sleek black hair. The years of Quidditch practice didn't do her figure that much harm, either. Harriet needed to stop before she got too jealous. "Blimey, it's even in your hair!"

"Sorry, Mum." Billy grumbled, pulling at his messy black hair in hopes of getting the pieces out. "I just feel like I haven' eaten in years!"

"You're always hungry." The lady Badgers droned in unison.

"And don't call your girlfriend 'Mum'. That's just weird." Harriet added while reaching across the table to grab another roll. She ripped off a chunk of the fluffy bread and dipped it in her soup before popping it in her mouth with an "_Mmm_."

Billy mumbled something along the lines of never getting a break. Only an hour into the school year, and the Hufflepuff trio were acting just as they always had. The only difference was Billy and Marjory's relationship that budded over summer break, but if you asked Harriet she'd say they had been practically married since her first year when Billy asked Marjory to be his Valentine. She wasn't at all surprised when Marj owled her a full recount of how Billy asked her to be his girlfriend.

_"He charmed these roses to spell out 'go steady?' on my lawn! Can you believe it? I've liked him for forever! Sorry I didn't tell you earlier, mate, but I wanted to keep it a secret in case things got awkward. But don't have to worry about that now! And he even asked my Da! Of course, Daddy didn't like it at first. I guess he came around when he realized that it's better for it to be Billy than some random bloke he's never met. Oh, Harriet I'm so giddy! I sound like the first years when they get their first Valentine's cards. Feel free to vomit. Be happy for me too, though!" _

She had gushed on like that for three pages. Her owl, Rose even waited patiently for Harriet to finish writing a response before flying away. The Wexler's certainly didn't waste their money on poorly trained owls. The copper-haired Puff wondered if her own family owl, Rudders could ever be trained to do that. Probably not, the poor thing was ancient and about to be sacked as it was.

Harriet glanced around the Great Hall, taking in all the things she had missed during vacation: the mesmerizing enchanted ceiling, the bunches of floating candles, the feeling of truly being home, and even the sight of the professors lined up at the front. Merlin, she had even missed her professors. Was she ill? Her favorite professor, however, was nowhere to be seen. Dumbledore gave no reason as to why Professor Hagrid was missing, only that he was going to be away for a while. She hoped that the substitute was adequate, she really wanted her OWL in Care of Magical Creatures.

There was something that would always be missing at Hogwarts now, though. And he wasn't just on leave. Suddenly Harriet wasn't hungry anymore.

She pushed her leftovers toward Billy, who didn't even question the opportunity for food. Marjory however noticed the younger witch's sudden lack of appetite, and gave her a comforting smile that reached all the way to her warm chocolate eyes. Harriet wanted so badly to thank her, but decided that she did not want to spend her first dinner back sobbing. She dismissed the look and hoped that Marjory didn't think she was being too much of a twat.

Directing her attention elsewhere, the fifth year looked over at the Ravenclaw tables and searched for Cho. The Asian witch was, of course, surrounded by a large and very giggly group of girls. She herself was giggling along with them, but the laughter didn't reach her dark, almond-shaped eyes. Like she was making an effort to seem happy.

Alright, so looking for Cho had been a bad idea.

She instead directed her attention towards the Gryffindor table, and before she knew it she was searching for the twins. She found both of the tall, slender redheads right away of course. And to her surprise, they were both looking back at her. Harriet quickly looked back down at her hands, and picked at her fingernails. _Oh Merlin_, she thought, _not this again._

The sixteen-year-old timidly looked back up at the twins. Her face and chest quickly heated as she discovered the neither of them had looked away. They even had on their matching smirks again. She turned her head to make sure that Marjory and Billy hadn't noticed and found them engrossed in their own little world. For a third time, she looked back to the Weasleys. This time, however, they had exchanged their smirks for the most ridiculous and childish faces she had ever seen. One of them had his brown eyes crossed and his tongue sticking out like a hanged man. The other had hooked his fingers in the sides of his mouth and was waggling his tongue at her.

She tried very hard to stifle her laughter. These Weasleys were ludicrous, was this what their whole family was like? She thought Fred and George were seventh years, so why were they acting like they had just arrived here?

Forgetting for a moment that she was not four, she almost made a face back at them. The boys faces quickly returned to normal, and they went back to eating their food like nothing had happened. This left Harriet in quite a bit of confusion, until she realized that all of the Gryffindors at that table were staring at her like she was some sort of stalker. Completely mortified for the second time that day, Harriet Stewart quickly threw a BS excuse at Marjory and Billy and started back up to her dormitory. They were too lost in each other's eyes to even notice her absence.

Once back in her room, the bronze-haired fifth year found that Patches had indeed made it back to the castle. He had curled himself up in a perfect circle in the middle of her bed, looking like grey and white pillow that had been tossed carelessly onto the mattress. She gently stroked her fingers through the cat's fur before picking him up and moving him to the foot of the bed. He gave an irritated 'meow' of protest, but settled back down quickly. Harriet smiled to herself and changed quickly out of her uniform and into her night clothes.

Marjory probably wouldn't be down for a while, and her other dorm mates were asleep. Not wanting to disturb the slumbering Hufflepuffs, she decided it was best to simply go to bed and try to forget the embarrassment of the day.

If only it were that easy.

A cycle of nightmares had begun. Happy times with Cedric that ended with the image of his lifeless body on that grassy field. Each dream began differently. The pair was in Hogsmeade, the Great Hall, the Common Room...but they all ended the same. They were all equally painful. Whenever Harriet thought about Cedric, it felt as though her heart had sunk into her belly, eaten away by stomach acid.

She had only just gotten to really know him when he was murdered. She still didn't know how, or even why. Of course, she had conjured up plenty of scenarios in her head of what had happened before she saw Harry Potter crouching over his limp form like a cornered animal. Each one worst than the last.

Why did she do this to herself?

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After what felt like hours and hours of torture, Harriet found herself awaken by a bright light. Through the back of her eyelids, it looked quite pretty.

The sound that joined it was not.

_"WE ARE GOING TO BE LATE FOR OUR FIRST BREAKFAST, STEWART!" _The fifth year could imagine a very angry black woman screaming at her, angelic face twisted with rage and clothes disheveled like they always were when she woke up. What Marjory had in beauty, she lacked in temper.

Breakfast? Her stomach liked the idea.

"'Kay Marjory..." She appeased with a yawn, rubbing the sleep from her eyes before opening them.

Marjory was standing at the foot of Harriet's bed with her hands on her hips, eyes so menacing that Patches hissed a bit from his place on the mattress. The mocha-skinned seventh year had always been an early riser, and usually woke the younger Puff up every morning with something alone the lines of _"Bugger, Stewart! Get the fuck up!" _or _"Harriet! Stop sleeping or you'll find yourself doused in cat piss!". _What graceful awakening.

Harriet quickly made herself presentable and grabbed around for what she thought she would need for the day. As the two Hufflepuffs started out the door, Patches gave an anxious _"Mrow." _

"What now!" Marjory gnashed her teeth together, ready to skin the cat alive.

"Oh! I forgot to put out his food. Just a moment, Marj." Harriet quickly _accio_'d the cat food from her trunk and poured the dry kibbles into a tiny dish next to the door. The pair then continued on their merry way.

"So," The elder girl started as they made their way through the black and yellow Common Room. The warm place had always given Harriet comfort in times of need. But after seeing Cedric's usual place on the sofa empty, she couldn't wait to get out. "I heard about your, erm, _encounter_ with George Weasley yesterday."

The younger student nearly cricked her neck as her face snapped toward Marjory's, coppery hair whipping with it. "You _what_?"

"Everyone's been talking about it. That Ravenclaw girl- whasser name? The talkative one."

"Marietta." Harriet growled out through her clenched jaw. Of course, the airhead had probably told everyone and their mother by now.

"Yeah, that one. She said that you two were flirting like mad on the way to the castle. And then you mucked it up, so you ran screaming from the carriage like a madwoman." Marjory snickered, not even bothering to hide her amusement at the younger's expense.

"I did not _run screaming!_" The pale girl balked at her friend. What an exaggeration!

Had she screamed?

"That's what she said. She also said that you had this _huge _blush on your face, and that you looked like a tomato! I can see why she'd say that, you're well on your way there now." She gestured to the fifth year with her slim fingers. Her voice was quieter as they approached the two huge doors that lead to the Great Hall.

Harriet was fuming.

"Shut up! She's embellishing the truth! I only hurried to my room because I was embarrassed at how those twins-"

"'Lo, Harriet." Said the tall, ginger-haired twins as they walked past the pair of Hufflepuffs. Two sets of brown eyes glinted mischievously at the girl, her mouth agape. They paused only for a moment to tip their heads in greeting before continuing on their way into the Great Hall.

And now, Harriet was speechless. She watched as they carried on, noting in her mind just how dashing they looked in they red and gold Gryffindor robes. It took her a full thirty seconds to close her mouth and look back at Marjory, who had a knowing look on her face.

Harriet was sure that the dark skinned Hufflepuff muttered something like: _"Infatuated."_


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks SO MUCH for the favorites and follows! Every bit helps! This one was a bitch to write just because I wanted to get everything about the scenes as perfect and canon as I possibly could. I worked _very _hard on this one.**

**As always (possibly more than usual), I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. C:**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**P.S. I know, I know, I changed some things. I really hope that they don't irk anyone _too_ much. I promise that they are necessary for the plot!**

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Chapter Three: Revelations

Harriet had never been a crier. Sure, when she was little and got hurt or something, she could wail at the top of her lungs with the best of them. But as she got older, she matured and learned how to deal with stress and pain without having a big, ugly cry in the middle of the hallway. That changed after Cedric's death. It was really hard to walk through the halls and spot every single place that she and Cedric used to hang out at, and not feel as thought she were going to fall apart.

The young Puff had only known Cedric for a little less than a year. She couldn't even begin to imagine how bad it must have been for Cho.

When was this supposed to get easier?

Would it ever?

The copper-haired witch mulled over these thoughts through breakfast (successfully ignoring Marjory and Billy's impromptu snog fest) and continued her deep thought all the way through Potions and Charms. Those subjects had never quite interested her, anyways. Thankfully, Snape had always been rather indifferent towards the Hufflepuff house. Harriet decided to herself that to Snape, harassing humble Puffs most likely paled in comparison to the golden opportunity to bully the Gryffindors. And as for Charms, she'd managed to barely scrape by with _Acceptable'_s for the past four years, and she'd probably do the same now.

It was upon meeting the newest professor for the Defense Against the Dark Arts that Harriet finally paid some real attention. Being one of the first students to enter the class, she took the opportunity to observe the newest addition to the Hogwarts staff. She was a stout woman, and quite thick around her waist. The _noises_ that she emitted from her fat, wet mouth made Harriet cringe. But despite the awful first glance, she tried her very best not to judge her newest professor too soon.

Harriet took a seat in the middle of the classroom and set her wand down on the desk infront of her. She could have sworn that the slender stick of dark brown wood held as much disgruntlement as she did. Picking nervously into the swirling wooden grooves with her fingernails, she waited to see who she would be sitting next to for the next school year.

Students from all houses filed into the rows of two-seater desks. A quiet and gossipy chatter accompanied the screeching sound of a piece of chalk scribbling away on the chalkboard. The fifth year Hufflepuff tried her best to ignore the urge to cringe again, and instead looked around the room. It seemed as though everyone had a desk partner but her.

Just as the young witch was getting used to the idea of sitting alone, she felt a tap at her shoulder. Green met green as she turned toward the shoulder-tapper.

"Is..er...is this seat taken?"

To Harriet's utter surprise, Harry Potter gestured towards the seat beside her. If something like this had happened during her first year, she would have squealed in delight and glued his rump to the seat of the chair. However, like most of the witches at Hogwarts, the star-struck feeling ended around third year when they realized that he was not going to '_like _like' any of them back. The childhood crush had also died the moment she saw him with Cedric's...

Nevermind that, she had grieved quite enough today. She gave a friendly smile and shook her head.

"No, go ahead." She scooted her chair a bit to the side in order to accomodate his slightly-larger build.

A look of relief flashed across his face as he sat down. He pushed his messy black hair away from his forehead for a second, a sign of exhaustion. This slightly revealed the lightning bolt scar that everyone had fussed about since You-Know-When. The Potter boy gave a sigh.

"I know, I was worried I would be sitting by myself all year, too." Harriet chuckled lightly.

Harry sent her a small smile in return, and just as Harriet thought he was going to reply, a sharp '_hem hem_' interrupted them.

"Good morning, children." The squeakiest voice she had ever heard attacked the witch's ear drums. Merlin, this was going to be painful.

Harriet glanced around the room as the woman started her beginning of the year speech, taking note of the 'mightier-than-thou' tone that her too-sweet voice carried. Whether it was intentional or not, it irked her. She caught sight of the three words on the chalkboard: "Ordinary Wizarding Levels". Ah, of course. All of her professors had begun with something of that nature.

"What's this professor's name again?" She whispered to Harry, forgetting whether she had been introduced yesterday in the Great Hall. Harry gave her a confused look in return.

"Umbridge, weren't you paying attention last night? She made quite the appearence." He answered her, brow furrowed.

"Erm, no. I tend to space out a lot." She shrugged her shoulders apologetically. Maybe she should look into a focusing potion, if there was such a thing.

Another _'hem hem_' brought the pair's attention to the front of the room once again. The pink witch swished her wand at a pile of textbooks, which was a great deal taller than she was. They levitated to each desk, neatly sliding infront of every student. Harriet inspected the book with an air of skepticism. The cover looked as though it were a book meant for magical children as an introduction to actual schooling. A pre-Hogwarts gift to prepare a young witch or wizard for Hogwarts.

"Your previous instruction in this subject has been disturbingly..._uneven_. But you'll be pleased to know, from now on you'll be following a carefully structured, _Ministry-approved_ course of Defensive Magic." The stout woman informed her class as the books settled in their appropriate places. Did the Ministry's approval mean that the students would be sheltered?

_Well, _Harriet thought to herself, running her fingers along the side of the book and flipping through a few pages, _looks can be decieving sometimes._

"Yes?" Umbridge piped up, noticing that another Gryffindor had raised their hand.

It was Hermione Granger, the lone female in the Gryffindor Trio. Scanning her eyes across the classroom, Harriet confirmed that Ron Weasley was also in her class and the Golden Trio was, indeed, compete. She couldn't remember ever seeing the two Gryffindor boys apart. The red head was sitting next to Hermione, watching as she raised her arm up at a perfect ninety-degree angle. Harriet couldn't help but notice how Ron's hair was a few shades lighter than the twins'.

_Focus, Stewart._

"I'm sorry, but this textbook doesn't say anything about using defensive spells." The bushy-haired (_Yet still gorgeous, _Harriet thought irritatedly. _Is everyone here flipping the good side of the puberty coin?_) witch inquired. Blimey, had she read the whole book already?

"Using spells?" Umbridge gave a high pitched giggle. "Why, I can't imagine why you would _need _to use spells in my classroom." She sounded as though she had been told that she was part Hippogriff.

"We're not gonna be using magic?" The red headed wizard piped up from beside his fellow witch, puzzled.

"You will be learning about defensive spells in a secure, _risk free_ way." She said in a comforting tone. It did nothing of the sort.

Just as Harriet was about to ask for clarification as to what exactly was _risk free _about dark magic, Harry let out an annoyed scoff.

"What use is that? If we're going to be attacked, nothing's going to be risk free about it." Her fellow fifth year commented. Before he could even finish the sentence, Umbridge had started to shut it down.

"Students will raise their hands in my classroom." While the sweetness stayed at a level of diabetes, her overall tone changed. There was an air of simple demand about her.

"It is the view of the Ministry that a theoretical knowledge will be sufficient to get you through your examinations, which after all is what school is all about." The professor continued. The ever-pleasant smile returned to her face, plastered on with loads pink make-up.

"How's theory supposed to prepare us for what's out there?" Harry argued in a very clipped manner, volume of his voice rising. Harriet could feel the eyes on their desk, and all she wanted was to shrink. She could feel her face heating up. If there was one thing she didn't like, it was being in the middle of the action. Even observing this confrontation made her visibly uncomfortable. Her slight shoulders hunched as she tried to make herself smaller.

"There is _nothing _out there dear. Who do you imagine would like to attack children?" She gave a disbelieving laugh, which no one joined in on.

"Oh, I don't know, how about Lord Voldemort." Harry deadpanned.

Just like that, the atmosphere in the room took a drastic shift from awkward to tense. Hushed whispers became white noise, coming from all corners of the room. They echoed off of stone walls.

_"I heard he saw You-Know-Who."_

_"What a twat, someone introduce him to Loony Lovegood."_

_"Did he really say his name?"_

Umbridge's air of authority returned like a gale force wind.

"Now let me make this quite plain. You have been told that a certain Dark Wizard is at large once again." She started in an impossibly loud whisper. Her tiny feet began to move her down the aisles of desks. "This is a _lie_."

"It's not! I saw him! I fought him-" Harry began, shouting now. He looked around the room desperately, even making eye contact with Harriet. His emerald eyes were wide with a nervous alertness. _"Believe me!" _the green pools begged. She could offer him nothing, staring back with a stupid, dumbfounded look.

"Detention, Mr. Potter!" Umbridge snapped back, turning around as she ended the conversation.

"So, according to you Cedric Diggory dropped dead of his own accord!" Harry screamed back, hands balling into fists on his desk.

Harriet's heart dropped. The few seconds of abrupt silence that followed the accusation felt like hours to her as her own fingernails dug into her palms. Even the mention of his name made her stomach turn with grief. The room whirled around her, and she squeezed her eyes shut tight as the threat of tears made itself known. No, she would not cry in this classroom.

Is that what really happened? She had heard rumors, but never directly from the source. The idea that Cedric had been killed- _murdered._ It was unreal. She would not accept it. No one would murder Cedric, not even You-Know-Who. What would the most powerful Dark Wizard in all of magical history want with Cedric? The professors had told her that it was an accident during the Tournament. After all, the students had been warned many times by Dumbledore himself, _"People die in these games."_

"Cedric Diggory's death was a tragic accident!" Umbridge rebuked, voice taut with sympathy. Though it looked very feigned to Harriet.

"It was murder, Voldemort killed him! You must know th-"

"ENOUGH!" Umbridge shrieked. Her tiny body went stick-straight at the front of the room. Noticing the level of her voice, she lowered it considerably, relaxed her shoulders, and began again. "Enough. Mr. Potter, see me later. My office." She smiled, and it was incredibly fake.

_"Hem-hem!" _She giggled.

* * *

It took a lot of effort to flag Harry down after the ordeal, as he bolted out of the room like he was atop a broom. The fifth year had to scurry out of the classroom and into the corridor as fast as she could. But after running a few yards to grasp at his elbow, he finally turned around. The intensity in his green eyes scared her, and he stopped so suddenly that she bumped into his front as he turned around. Her wand clattered to the floor, and she bent to pick it up. Harriet had to admit that she was glad for the excuse to look away from him.

He waited to address her until the crowd of exiting students had cleared. They were alone in the stonewalled passageway. She took the opportunity to readjust her robes and fidget with her wand.

"What?" He snapped. Was he so angry all the time?

It took a few seconds for her to gather herself and look him in the eyes again. Her mouth opened and closed multiple times as she tried to fit her words together. His annoyance visibly grew.

"I...is it true?" The Hufflepuff asked, filling up with dread. Merlin, did she even want to know the truth? Why was she _doing _this to herself?

"Is what true?" His expression softened a fraction as he noticed her trembling form. She probably looked pathetic, fingers winding in her coppery hair in an attempt to stop her shaking.

"Did You-Know-Who really..._murder_..." Her throat felt tight. It had been so long since Harriet had been able to say her fellow Hufflepuff's name out loud. It hurt to try now. Tears welled up around her eyes again, and she felt her cheeks get hot. A lump developed at the base of her throat that could not be swallowed down. She fought to keep the tears at bay, and she was once again victorious- if not only slightly.

"Yes." Harry answered her simply. While his voice was no longer aggressive, his eyes still held the same intensity. "I'm sorry." He apologized as he analyzed her strong reaction. The young Gryffindor's words were careful now. "Were you two close?"

Because the witch did not yet trust herself to speak without her voice breaking, she gulped hard and nodded. Cedric was someone that she would never forget, even if he hadn't...

"Cedric was my friend too. People seem to forget that when they accuse me of lunacy." The statement, while passive aggressive, gave her at least a little comfort. He felt loss too, he was just like her. His hand touched her shoulder briefly, and he made to turn around.

"Thank you." Harriet's voice sounded someone had strangled her. Embarrassment attacked her nerves from the inside. Harry simply nodded and carried on to his next classes. She took a few moment to compose herself before she did the same.

Her next class was Care of Magical Creatures, and to her dismay, Cho Chang would be joining her.

The Asian goddess took a seat beside her as soon as she sat down and immediately began questioning her strange behavior. She tried her best to hide her discomfort from her friend, and kept the conversation light. How were Cho's classes? How was Marietta's vacation? How did she feel about her summer essay? Being so intently focused on keeping Cho's concern on a leash, she even let herself be talked into sitting with her at dinner.

"Really? I'm so excited! We can talk _all about_ you and George Weasley." She winked a mocha-brown almond eye, and turned to face the front of the class.

Merlin, what had she done now?

* * *

Dinner was brutal.

Harriet was caught multiple times trying to stuff her face with food in frenzied attempts to avoid answering questions. Marietta and Cho baited her many times, and she felt quite like a moth being drawn to a dangerous flame.

"And the way he looked at you! I thought he would have introduced himself so much earlier!" Cho said dreamily, swirling her silver spoon in her chicken noodle soup.

Marietta scoffed, speaking through a mountain of food. Her already-chubby face looked ridiculously like a chipmunk as she stored bits of bread in her cheeks. "How he looked at her? How _she _started at _him!_"

Harriet wished that she could have drowned in her own soup. She stared into the golden-brown pool of flavor in an attempt to hide her rapidly reddening cheeks. Maybe if she pressed her face into the bowl hard enough, she would indeed drown. She imagined the headlines in the _Prophet_:

**Hogwarts Witch drowns in two inches of chicken broth! Details on page four. **

She snapped out of her daydreaming in time to realize that the Ravenclaw duo had gone quiet. Harriet had this ominous feeling, as though something dreadful were about to happen. She tilted her head up and away from her soup bowl, and saw that two very tall, very attractive redheads were standing at the opposite side of the table. Her grass-green eyes went wide.

The two shared wicked grins. If the Puff's face wasn't red before, it certainly was now.

"'Lo, Harriet." They said in unison, the one she was pretty sure was George winked at her with those dark brown eyes.

"Hello." She nodded towards them and gulped. Was he trying to kill her?

"We were, uh, unfortunately _occupied_ today during a few of our classes," He started, sounding not at all like it was unfortunate in any sense.

"-and we have been informed that a lovely Hufflepuff shares out Potion's class." Fred continued, sounding professional.

Harriet, confused, found her tiny voice. "But you're both seventh years...I'm taking fifth year potions."

"Well you see, my lady," George informed her. "So are we."

"Potions isn't exactly our academic strength." Fred nodded.

"Academics aren't our academic strength." George added in mock seriousness.

Marietta giggled much too loudly beside her, cupping her face between her hands and resting her elbows on the table. She apparently found the joke extremely funny.

"So, sweet Harriet, we were wondering if you could let us know what our _wonderful _assignment is for tonight." Fred leaned a hand onto the table, smiling down from a great height.

"We really would like to start off on the right foot with Snapey this year." George smirked.

"Seven inches on the importance of proper cauldron cleaning." She sputtered out quickly. Her heart raced simply from being around them. Merlin, she was a goner.

_"Enticing." _The twins said in unison. "Thanks, Harriet." And with that, they were off to their own dinner table.

Marietta and Cho looked as though they had won the wizarding lottery.

* * *

**Please review! I'll take any constructive criticism I can get!**

**Thanks for reading. C:**


	4. Chapter 4

**Once again, thanks for your favorites and follows. I appreciate every bit of support I can get. Bonkers has gotten over 200 views now! I know, it doesn't sound like very much compared to some of the more popular stories, but I'm just happy that people are reading it (and hopefully liking it)!**

**Enjoy! C:**

**P.S. Thanks for waiting so unreasonably long for this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

* * *

Chapter Four: Marjory "Helps"

Sleep that night had been restless, and full of twisted nightmares about Lord Voldemort and Cedric that left Harriet Stewart weeping pathetically by the early morning. She awoke at what she guessed to be four in the morning, and tried for half and hour to lull herself back to sleep. But it was as though every noise was magnified. Marjory's usually light snoring in the next bed over now rivaled a banshee's wail. Patches' content purring by her side, which she normally found endearing, now annoyed her. The blankets too hot, the air too cold. Harriet gave up and gathered her uniform for the day before heading to the dormitory's showers.

When she arrived, she picked one of the showers in the back of the shared bathroom and set her things down on the bench before peeling the slightly-sweaty and sleep-ruffled nightclothes from her tiny body. Clumsy fingers groped for the handle and pulled on it. _Freezing _water stabbed at every inch of the fifth year's pale skin and resulted in a high-pitched shriek. She quickly threw her body against the shower wall and away from the spray of ice-cold discomfort.

Over the summer, Harriet had forgotten the tricks to Hogwarts showers.

You see, the showers did not have a 'hot' option, because it was assumed by...well, whomever built the showers, that the witch or wizard would be able to warm the water themselves. This, after all, was very basic magic.

"Fucking hell, Dumbledore, you can have mass illusion and protection charms going 'round the clock around the whole bloody school, but you can't manage a ruddy hot water handle? Maybe you really are as daft as the _Prophet _says you are." Harriet grumbled to herself, peeved and shivering. She reached her around the icy waterfall and fumbled with the lever for a minute before shoving it back into place.

"_Accio _wand." She commanded. Her wooden companion obeyed, flying into her open palm. Harriet then tapped the shower head with her wand, and pulled at the handle again.

The water once again complied, and began to spray down at the tile. Tiny drops managed to rebound off of the grey surface and land on her legs. The Hufflepuff stuck her free hand out into the spray, judging the temperature of the water. She deemed it a fair temperature before tossing her wand back onto the bench with her clothes and ducking under the shower. _Ah. _That was more like it. The cleaning process began.

Scrubbing herself free of sweat, Harriet began to think about life outside of just Hogwarts. The _Prophet_ had been writing about Dumbledore and Harry Potter all summer. Each headline proclaimed the same thing: Dumbledore had gone loony, and Potter was just spewing whatever rubbish his Headmaster told him about You-Know-Who's return. And Harriet's father believed every criticizing word. Of course, that meant her mother agreed as well. You see, Mr. Stewart was a very hard and unyielding man. What he said usually set the tone for the rest of the household, and Harriet usually just went with it, nodding along dumbly. But lately, she had started to question her father's words.

It wasn't as if Mr. Stewart _forced _his beliefs onto anyone. On the contrary, he encouraged intelligent and intellectual debates with his workmates, friends, and extended family. He was just simply...to be polite, _loud_. When the head of the table expressed his opinion about an issue, the whole bloody neighborhood heard about it.

But this time, Harriet couldn't bring herself to agree with her father just to get him to quiet down. The young Badger didn't think that You-Know-Who's return was simply a ploy set up by her Headmaster and fellow fifth year. She considered herself a relatively good judge of character, and that talk she shared with Harry Potter in the corridor yesterday still rang clear through her mind.

_"Cedric was my friend too. People seem to forget that when they accuse me of lunacy." _

Harriet knew that he wasn't lying, faking, or insane. The image of him crouched over Cedric's body the night of his death quaked down her spine as it reappeared. How the Boy Who Lived's face became the embodiment of pain and suffering, how his spine went rigid like a wild animal who had been cornered one too many times, how he had to be forcibly pried off of Cedric Diggory's body like he was still trying to protect it...

The young witch fought back a wave of sobs before realizing she had been standing, deep in thought, for twenty minutes. A quick glance at the clock reminded her that she had thirty minutes till her first class of the day. She quickly finished her shower and got dressed for the day.

* * *

Half way through her oh-so-enjoyable two hour lesson with Professor Snape, class got a little more interesting. All of the students had been instructed to read through the first three chapters of the text (cauldron care and safety), and had been dutifully either reading, sleeping, or staring blankly at the pages. Harriet, on the other hand, had been scribbling in circles with her quill and daydreaming in her own little world when a quiet creak disturbed the silence. She turned to face this intrusion and nearly tumbled out of her seat.

Fred and George Weasley were slowly but surely sneaking into her Potions class. They hadn't been joking about being in her class. Both twins were bent at the waist, creeping along the back wall of the room. Their fiery red hair, unkempt and sticking out in every direction, contrasted against the dark walls as they made like bandits to their seats. _Where are they going to sit? _Harriet thought to herself. _They weren't here yesterday, and all of the seats are taken..._

Oh Merlin how had she not seen this coming. The only two available seats were on either side of the dainty little Hufflepuff. She quickly looked away from the twins and toward the front of the room, where Professor Snape was grading the homework from last night. The middle-aged Slytherin flicked his quill over thirty-some essays with decided efficiency. It was the kind of grading system you neither accepted nor questioned; it just _was_.

As the tall Gryffindors made their quiet ways into the seats beside her, Harriet's breathing hitched. She tried to make herself appear normal and unaffected by their intruding presence. This failed miserably.

"'Lo, Harriet." They whispered teasingly, sitting down at the exact same time. Much too close to her by means of comfort. She gulped hard and nodded in return. Both red heads had smug grins on their face, content with their success. At least, they thought they were successful.

"You will have to do better than that if you're going to sneak into my class, Weasleys. Ten points from Gryffindor, each."

Two sighs were released from either side of her. She pretended to read through the text, in reality checking the twins out in her peripheral vision. The Weasley on her right set his textbook on the three-seater desk, while the one on her left took out his quill and a piece of parchment. Harriet was pretty sure that the right twin's book had a small _George Weasley _printed messily on the side of it, so she mentally referred to him as such.

"Please bring your homework to my desk immediately." Snape continued, voice drawling absently like he had half a mind to dock them thirty more points each.

"No can do, Professor." Fred replied, shrugging his broad shoulders. _Oh, how broad and muscular they looked._

Snape looked up from his grading with his eyebrow raised, and even though Harriet's desk was pretty far back in the classroom, she was sure that there was not the slightest hint of amusement on his face. "Why is that, Mr. Weasley?"

"Well, Professor, we were much too focused on a higher task yesterday to complete the assignment." George answered, stroking his chin like he had just given the most educated and justified reason in existence. He tilted his chair back and crossed his arms over his chest.

"And neither of you completed the assignment?" Snape continued in his bored tone.

"Unfortunately, sir." Fred nodded, stretching out his arms and cracking his knuckles. His elbow brushed hers, and her breathing hitched. What the bugger was wrong with her? And why had the twins asked her what the assignment was yesterday if they weren't planning on completing it? Whether it was Fred and George's closeness, or their lack of logic; they had Harriet's head spinning.

"Hmm," Snape murmured something to himself, as if mulling over one of the essays. "Ten more points from Gryffindor, each. Congratulations, Weasleys. Fourty points in one day. Kindly remove your filthy feet from my desk, Mr. Weasley."

George did as he was told, the smug look remaining on his face. Harriet couldn't believe it. They'd just lost fourty house points and the twins remained content?

"Are you going for a new record?" The Hufflepuff asked in a disbelieving whisper as she turned towards him.

He only smiled wider in response, and shook his head in amusement. "Not even close." He gave her a small wink that set her cheeks ablaze.

"W-what?" She stammered, fists clenched at either side of her textbook. _Be still, my beating heart. That was the most seductive wink I've ever seen._

"If we were going for a record," Fred contributed from her left. He then leaned in very close to her and started to whisper in her ear. "We'd need to be docked over one hundred and twenty." His hot breath traced the shell of her ear and made her whole face heat up. She could feel her stomach twist into knots. Oh, the inexperience of a very excitable virgin.

"That's, uh, quite a high number." Harriet remarked, reaching up to pull her collar away from her neck. She could have sworn steam rose from her skin.

Fred made a noise of agreement before returning to his original position. Harriet couldn't tell whether she missed his closeness, or reveled in the ability to breathe again. She cleared her throat before returning to the textbook, reading the same line that she must have started five times by now. The rest of class continued in the same fashion, with Harriet swooning all over the place and the twins cracking jokes at every turn.

* * *

That lesson affected Harriet's mood for the rest of the day, and it did not go unnoticed by Marjory at dinner.

"What's got your panties soaked through?" She commented bluntly, not five minutes into their meal. This caused Billy to sputter into his soup and stare shocked at his girlfriend. Harriet joined him in a like manner. A bit of her own soup dribbled out of her hanging jaw.

Marjory continued to stare expectantly, perfectly arched eyebrow and all. "Well?"

"Nothing, Marj." Harriet muttered, and wiped at her chin with her sleeve.

"Liar." The dark-skinned goddess remarked off-handedly.

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Marjory, please." Harriet whined childishly.

"It's that ginger twin, 'innit?" Billy joined in, probably wanting Marjory's attention back. He really was one of those puppy-type boyfriends.

"Stay out of this, Billy." The two Hufflepuff witches said in unison. Neither turned and looked at the poor seventh year, so he glumly went back to his eating.

"Did you make a move?" The eldest witch carried on relentlessly, not at all swayed by the younger's begging.

"Of course not!" Harriet coughed out. Her? Make a move on the Weasley twins? She'd never even really _talked _to boys she found attractive. Much less tried to pick them up.

"Should've guessed. I'll get you a date." And before she could argue, Marjory had made up her mind. Harriet could already see the wheels turning in her pretty little head. It was hopeless for her to object.

Bugger.

* * *

**Thank you for waiting and reading! This is where the story starts to get a little more fluffy and interesting! I'm trying to keep a good balance between background, plot, and romance. C: **

**PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE let me know how you think in the reviews! I'll take every single piece of criticism or praise that I can get. If I'm doing something wrong or right, I want you to tell me!**

**Thanks again! Hope you enjoyed it!**


	5. NOTICE

ATTENTION READERS: Sorry, you probably thought this was another chapter. I am currently going through and cleaning up/editing the existing chapters to flow more smoothly and also to fix some errors in my writing. New chapters should be coming up as the summer approaches. Thank you for your kind reviews and beautiful faces.

XOXO

LSDalice


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